


Your Freckles are Fallen Stars

by GlassAlice



Series: Voltron Amino Weekly October Prompts [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuban Lance (Voltron), Fluff, Fluff so sweet it'll rot your teeth, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, I needed some soft klance for my soul, I'm giving y'all a bunch of fluff before i rip out your soul with my next fic, Insecure Lance (Voltron), It was written before season 4, Keith is trying to be a good leader okay?, Lance's last name is Serrano, M/M, OctoberPrompts2k17, Soft Boys, Voltron Amino, i have a lot of feelings after season 4, so i wanted to finish my fluff story, this takes place after season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 02:54:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12448182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlassAlice/pseuds/GlassAlice
Summary: Sugar sweet fluff after season 3 with Keith being the leader and everyone enjoying a festival.Lance shivered, maybe it was getting colder. He held Keith's hand between both of his palms and looked at him in the eyes. Their breaths crystallized in the air and felt warm between them. A brisk breeze blew past them, ruffling Lance’s hair and pushing Keith’s bangs into his eyes. Keith looked up at Lance through his jagged fringe but didn’t pull his hand away.Maybe autumn could be nice, even if they were so far from Earth. Lance suspected that with Keith around, it would be.





	Your Freckles are Fallen Stars

**Author's Note:**

> -Week 3- Fall on other planets
> 
> Uh...So just pretend the Garrison is somewhere pretty like Oregon or Vermont or wherever that's green with four seasons and...not somewhere around the Sonoran or Mojave desert like it is in the show. Just...let me have that. 
> 
> I started writing this before season 4 was released, it takes place before Shiro(Kuro) comes back. But I really needed some Klance fluff after binging season 4 *crys* I'm still SHOOKITH I'm not sure what I'm going to do about season 4. I don't know how to FEEL. Okay okay. I'm not going to rant right before my fic, because I have self _control_
> 
> ON TO THE FIC!

Lance loved all four seasons. When he was on earth he would proclaim vehemently that whichever season it currently was, was his favorite. If truth be told, it was more that he loved watching the world change, the different feeling each season brought. Growing up in Cuba meant that seasons were more of a suggestion than an actual event, so he had to put in twice the effort to make things, like Christmas, feel like themselves. The world didn’t automatically do that for him like it did in the movies he’d watch with his brother. People wearing jackets, their exhalations fogging in frigid air, leaves changing color and falling from the trees giving way to heavy branches of snow; all of them foreign ideas that belonged to people too far away. 

One year, when Lance got obsessed with the live action Casper movie, he’d begged his mom to let him have an American Halloween party just like Kat’s. He’d invited all his friends from school and told them to dress up in funny costumes. His mom made him a dress, almost exactly like Kat’s, out of his older sister’s too-small birthday dress. Lance forced his friends to watch a badly dubbed version of Casper at the beginning of the party, then they danced. By the end of his makeshift Halloween, he was stuffed pleasantly full with his mom’s maduros and passed out on the couch. He’d ended up in just a pair of shorts somewhere around the playlist reaching La Gozadera, dress now long discarded as he slumbered. It was his only Halloween memory before the Garrison, but it was his favorite. 

Once he’d made it to the Garrison he’d begged Hunk to show him a real American Halloween. Pidge hijacked his celebration and made mulled cider, much to Hunk’s chagrin. Hunk and Pidge had stuffed their dorm room with cheap candy and they marathoned every American classic horror movie Lance hadn’t seen, which was all of them. Lance hated the too-sweet chocolate that tasted a little bit of vomit but found he loved the gummy worms. Lance fisted gummy worms into his mouth five at a time as he hid behind Hunk for most of the movies. By the end of the night, Lance was sick to his stomach and had to sleep with the lights on. 

He’d sworn off Halloween after that and cursed fall, until Pidge introduced him to Pumpkin Spice Lattes. The first taste of the magnificent concoction as it passed through his lips changed him, and for the first time Lance started to see that fall’s offerings included more than horror movies and cheap candy. Still, even Pumpkin Spice Lattes couldn’t compare to the seasons themselves. To watch the world trade her green gown for her fiery red crown was second only to the bright pink blossoms sticking out of snow in spring. Cuba had seasons for sure, but they were nothing like the four seasons he learned about in school. It was more like dry and hot or wet and hot, whatever those season are called, that’s all he’d known. 

The first time he’d witnessed fall it felt like a dream. The colors of the leaves as they shifted were surreal, impossible shades. He’d saved the reddest leaf he could find and pressed it in his textbook. It turned a deep purple as it dried, and it was one of Lance’s most prized possessions. Not that he had any possessions anymore.

Now that he was stuck in space it felt like he was back in Cuba. No, it was worse than Cuba. At least Cuba had a rainy season. Here, nothing ever changed. The climate-controlled castle kept the temperature a perfect cool around the clock. A little too cold for Lance, which made him forever thankful that he’d left earth with his jacket. 

Lance had been keeping track of the days since they left earth and he was pretty sure it was somewhere around October. It wasn’t a perfect conversion, but he was confident it was around October 21st, give or take a few days. 

That meant that they’d been gone a little over a year, now. Lance had sworn after seeing his first fall that he wouldn’t miss another one again for the rest of his life. Yet here he was, in space, in a temperature controlled environment, with fall as far away as the rest of the things he loved. 

Lance sighed and picked at his nails, one leg slung over the back of the couch. If only they could take one day off to head back to earth; he could see his family, drink some jupino, eat his mom’s maduros, hug his family. Tell them he wasn’t dead. Tell them that he was sorry for leaving without saying anything. 

Tell them that he loved them.

Lance squeezed his eyes shut and sucked in a breath. The cold air filled his lungs and he held it there until his body warmed it back up. He let it out long and slow, and as it shuttered past his lips he knew it was too late, he was going to lose it right here in the middle of the lounge. 

“Are you okay?” a voice sliced through his thoughts and his eyes flew open looking for the source.

Keith stood over him, black hair falling in his eyes as he leaned over the couch trying to look at Lance’s face. 

Lance threw on a shaky smile and laughed. He tried to hide the tears that had leaked out by wiping his hand down his face and mumbled, “Just tired, buddy. I think I’ll go take a nap.” His voice was raspy and he hoped it just sounded sleepy instead of pathetic. He started to sit up when a strong hand pushed gently on his chest.

“No, something is definitely wrong. Tell me.” Keith’s hand was firm and warm, like an anchor in a turbulent sea of emotions. 

Lance swallowed his thoughts, pushing them down along with the lump in his throat. He coughed to get his voice back and looked down, away, anyplace except Keith’s dark violet eyes, “Just thinking about home, I guess.”

Keith’s hand softened before finally pulling away. The warmth on his chest was replaced by cold air, Lance bit his lip to keep from snatching Keith’s hand and pulling it back. 

Keith made a soft noise in the back of his throat, “We all miss home, Lance, but you aren’t alone here.”

Lance stole a quick glance up at the half smile that seemed to soften Keith’s entire face, “Yeah, I know. I’m being selfish. Don’t worry I’ll be back to cheerful Lance soon. I won’t bring down the team.”

Keith clicked his tongue, “That’s not what I meant, Lance.” He sighed and ran a gloved hand through his hair, his posture shifted and when he looked back at Lance his face was a shadow of Shiro’s, “I came here to let you know we’re going on a mission. There’s a planet near here and Coran wants us to go down and pick up some parts he needs for the ship, plus there’s some sort of festival going on. Allura said having the Paladins of Voltron show up and give their support would be really good morale for the freed planets.”

“We’re going to a festival?” Lance perked up lifting himself into a seated position and smiling, some of the heaviness forgotten for now. 

A reddish tinge tipped Keith’s ears and he looked down, away from Lance, his smile too bright to look at directly, “Yes but it’s still a _mission_ Lance, so be on your best behavior. You’re Voltron’s Red Paladin now, the Black Paladin's right-hand man.” Keith paused and sent Lance a weighted stare, “You’re _my_ right-hand man and I need you to take this seriously.”

Lance nodded emphatically, “Of course, I won't let you down,” he made an x motion, flailing his arms determinedly across his chest to indicate his absolute resolution not to let him down, “cross my heart.”

Keith gave Lance a longsuffering stare before pulling away, “We’ll be there in half a varga, so get ready.” He patted the back of the couch twice in quick succession as if to say _good talk_ and turned to leave.

“Hey, Keith?” Lance called to his back.

Keith paused and did a half turn to look at Lance over his shoulder, “Yeah?”

“Nevermind.” Lance plastered his best smile on his face.

Keith tightened his gaze, looking at Lance in confusion, before shrugging and walking out the door.

Lance sighed and flopped back down on the couch, that was close. He’d almost said something he’d regret just because Keith had smiled at him. _You’re such a pushover, he doesn't actually care about you, he’s just trying to be a good leader._

Lance swiped his fingers through his hair before rolling off the couch and standing up, “Time to make myself look good for the ladies!” Lance smirked to himself like it was an inside joke, population one, and headed off to his room.

-X- 

Allura told them all to dress casually, so Lance was sporting his baseball tee and olive jacket by the time he met everyone in the hanger. Coran stayed behind to defend the castle in case of any Galra activity and waved goodbye affectionately as they took off in their lions. The five paladins flew in formation down to the planet. 

The planet, designated GA-SB7 on the castle’s map, was a deep purple and blue color from space. The blue water looked just like Earth’s. If Lance squinted hard enough, he could pretend all the purple was green and they were heading home at last.

He abandoned those thoughts quickly as emotions surged through him and Red sent a disgruntled growl his way. Red was much more temperamental than Blue and Lance sometimes had a hard time adjusting from the soft purrs he’d grown used to - to the various growls Red used. He sighed and pushed down the rising emotions the way Red liked it. He had to keep it together for the show, Keith was counting on him, and he was determined to get some new fans of the Red Paladin. He smirked and pushed down on his controls pressing Red to her limits, speeding past the Black lion with a “Wooo!”

The apex of Red’s speed was cut short, as the comms crackled and Keith’s angry voice filled his ears.

“Lance! What are you doing? Get back in formation! Now.” Keith tried to copy Shiro’s tone on the _now_.

“Oh c’mon, buddy. I’m just having a little fun with Red, we’ll meet you guys down there.” Red sent an approving chirrup into his head. Red loved the speed more than just about anything, the freedom of having nothing in one’s head but the rush, the thrill of terminal velocity.

“ _Lance_ , that’s an order.” Keith’s voice was low with warning.

Lance rolled his eyes and pulled back on his controls, slowing Red down to a stop while he waited for everyone to catch up. “No wonder Red left you for me, you have no sense of fun.” Lance whined into the comms.

No reply came his way, and Lance tallied the exchange up as one win for himself.

Once everyone had caught up, he pulled Red back into formation and they all landed in a grove encircled by lush trees.

Red opened her mouth and Lance jumped out. He stared with his mouth open at the dense almost Earth-like trees. The trees were shades of purple, some the exact color of his fall leaf still tightly pressed in his textbook back on earth. A few of them were a lush ruby red, and others a stark, nebulous blue. 

Lance jumped as Hunk clapped him heavily on the back as he walked past, “Hey, bro, you're going to get left behind.” 

Lance looked up at the larger boy, “Yeah, I'm coming.” He jogged to catch up, closing his mouth to keep from gawking at the rich flora.

Lance sidled up alongside Keith and tapped his shoulder, “So where is this shindig, anyways? All I see are trees, trees, and more trees.” He gestured to said thick topiary canopy encompassing them on all sides.

Keith shrugged Lance's hand off his shoulder, “It’s right over this knoll.” 

The trees thinned around them and lights of all colors popped into view in the sloped valley below them. What looked like giant round glowing piñata, with colorful streamers hanging down where the trap door should be, floated over the roofs of the city square, tethered by thick ropes to great poles that stood slanting by pathways throughout the town. Golden lights floated and blinked softly around the city center and beyond, illuminating the sharp slopes of pale yellow rooftops. The town was a maze spreading from the dense center to the haphazard outskirts, labyrinthine passages filled of sudden dead ends and curling pathways. One road was lit brighter than the rest, leading straight into the center of it all. 

The paladins picked their way down the hill toward the city’s entrance. Lance forgot all about saving the universe, representing Voltron, or the mission Keith had assigned them to help bring this and other freed planets into their coalition; at that moment, he was just a 17-year-old boy from Earth looking up in awe at an alien planet’s wonders. Lance felt very small, and very vay far from home. 

The streamers that dangled from the huge floating lanterns spread as wide as Lance’s arm span, running for miles above his head. Lance tried to tug on one to see if there really was a trap door hidden in them, but nothing happend. He shrugged as he walked on, head filled with happy memories of his own piñatas and magic strings. The paladins weaved in and out from behind streamers of pink, yellow, blue, and green as they headed toward the center of the city. 

Thin trees lined the streets, decorated with long strips of colored paper. Every once in awhile someone would stop and tie another slip of paper to a tree, adding to the veritable prism of colors that seemed to burnish every surface in the town. Lance spotted a few booths that were handing out paper and writing utensils to passersby. Children of the locals--a tall, thin race with light olive fur all over their bodies--ran by with wooden masks painted in bright hues covering their tiny faces. Some of the masks resembled animals that he’d never seen, but others seemed vaguely Voltron-lion-shaped. Lance smirked whenever he saw one of those. Hawkers and patrons at stalls full of food, games, and wooden masks shouted and waved at the paladins as they walked down the main street.

They passed over the border of the street venders and into the main event in the center of the city. There were large brass bowls filled with a dark jewel-colored powder cluttering around the town square--though square it was not--so that you didn’t have far to step to grab a fistful of a new fanciful shade. Locals would walk by and scoop up a handful of gem-toned powder and throw it at the people walking next to them. Every person was splashed in various beautiful hues over their pale olive fur and milky-colored clothes. 

The team walked by a deep garnet pool of powder and Lance eyed it. _A little revenge for the space spore-ball fight might be in order_ he thought to himself. Lance scooped his hand into the bowl, fingering the fine granules. He fisted a handful, deftly turned to his left, and aimed the stuff directly at Keith.

As soon as he let the powder fly, Allura stepped directly into his line of fire, head turned looking at Pidge as they walked. The ruddy powder pillowed out as it hit the back of Allura’s head, splashing on both her and Pidge in a dazzling display of crimson. Lance winced internally, _Not again._

He opened his mouth to apologize when a soft ball of jade green powder smacked him dead in the face filling up his mouth with a chalky metallic flavor. He coughed and spit the stuff out, looking down at his favorite baseball tee, covered in green. 

“Wha?” He said intelligently, his brain trying to catch up with the events.

His head automatically followed the sound of Keith’s laughter. His mind came to a complete halt at the soft look on Keith’s face. His smile making little dimples appear on the sides of his mouth and his eyes were bright with mirth. It took him too long to see Keith’s hand covered in dark green, _Great revenge, Lance._

He shouldn’t have gotten distracted, should have known better than to take his eyes off of Allura and Pidge. He realized his mistake as his vision was filled with blue and yellow clouds of dust. 

“Hey, I was trying to hit Keith, not you!” he glared at the two of them.

“For a ninja sharpshooter, you sure suck at aiming for Keith,” Pidge quipped.

Lance glared at Pidge when a pink ball hit him from the side. He whipped around to look at a guilty Hunk. “I didn’t want to be left out of the party,” Hunk said, smiling sheepishly. 

“That’s it, you’re all getting it!” Lance scooped two fistfuls of red powder in his hands and threw one at Keith, the other at Hunk, hitting both square in the chest. He went to retrieve more, but was pummeled with balls of color from all directions, everyone attacking Lance at once. Lance did what any brave soldier who was pinned down by a force of superior numbers and firepower would do--he curled into a ball and covered his head. “Stop, I give! Mercy! C’mon guys! I was just playing around. This isn’t funny!” 

“Oh, I find it quite funny, Lance.” Allura smiled, laughing as she threw another golden-yellow fistful of powder at Lance.

“Ok, that’s enough picking on Lance, guys,” Keith said, smirk plastered on his face, and everyone stopped. 

Lance peeked out from between his fingers and looked up at his smiling teammates. _Well if everyone ganging up on me was what it took to make them so happy, I guess it was worth it._

Lance stood up and looked down at the damage, he was speckled from head to toe, every inch of his body covered in a metallic jeweled mosaic. He wiped the loose powder off his person only to smear it around more, blending them into a blur. “Ha ha, very funny guys. Don’t we have a mission or something?”

Allura nodded, “We just need to make an appearance before the fireflowers, but other than that everyone is free to enjoy the festival.” She looked at everyone critically, “The mess Lance made should be fine, at least we look like we are taking part in the festival.”

“Don’t you have some sort of Altean magic you can use to clean me up?” Lance whined.

“No, Lance. You blend in with the locals, so don’t worry.” She smiled.

Lance huffed. Pidge pushed glasses up along that tiny nose and looked at Allura, “What time are these fireflowers?”

“In two vargas. I need you to come with me to get the ship parts for Coran, Pidge, but after that you’re free to join everyone in the festivities.” Allura clasped her hands in apology.

Pidge nodded, “Don’t worry about it, Allura, I figured you’d need my expertise.”

“Okay! Well then, let’s get this party started!” Lance whooped, “Where are the Ladies at?”

Keith crossed his arms glaring at Lance, “Lance, you promised.”

“What? I’m just going to have a little fun. Nothing that would smear the reputation of the Red Paladin.” Lance looked critically at Keith before remembering their conversation, “Or the Black Paladin.”

Keith’s brow furrowed further.

“Fine, if you don’t trust me so much, then why don’t you just see for yourself?” Lance grabbed Keith’s wrist and tugged him along, “See you guys in two vargas!” He called back over his shoulder, tugging Keith toward the line of golden-lit booths and sweet smells.

Lance flirted a few times, but each time he could feel Keith’s eyes boring into the back of his neck. No one, even Lance, could work under such conditions, so he gave up after the third try when his target couldn’t stop looking warily over his shoulder at Keith and asking, “Are you sure he’s okay?”

 _Why did I have to drag him along with me, as if I needed to prove that I could handle myself? He’s such a party pooper._

Lance shuffled along for a few more paces, scouting the area for any other cute aliens. If he was honest with himself, which he wasn’t often, his heart just wasn’t into it. His emotions were still swirling just below the surface and there was a light pressure on his chest that had lingered since that morning. Lance worried that pushing himself any further would break the dam he’d erected, so he decided to put his attention somewhere else for now.

Lance glanced back at Keith who was walking behind him, looking miserable and cupping his hands over his mouth. Lance chewed on his lip debating if he should confront Keith or just let the Black Paladin brood. His mouth won.

“Cold?” Lance called back over his shoulder, not really expecting anything in reply.

“A little, this jacket isn’t very warm.” Keith said shrugging.

Lance looked back in surprise, “Yeah, it is a bit cold. It’s like around, what, thirteen degrees?” He snuggled deeper into the worn green jacket that he was trying to make his trademark.

Keith pulled up next to Lance, touching their shoulders together softly, “It’s not snowing, don’t be dramatic. Maybe one of these stalls has something warm to drink?” 

Lance shook his head, “Like fifty five degrees,” he amended lightly bumping his shoulder into Keith’s. “God, we were in a space program, how do you not know your Celsius?” 

Lance looked around, trying his best to ignore Keith's proximity. He spotted a booth that looked promising, “That might be something,” he pointed to a stall with rolling clouds of steam rising from the mouth of its roof, situated just across the road.

Keith looked unconvinced and Lance was about to give up on this whole hang-out-with-Keith idea when Keith quickly changed directions, almost running to the booth.

“Hey, wait up!” Lance turned to follow, jogging to catch up. _Holy crow, Keith is fast._

By the time Lance pushed his way through the crowd, Keith was holding two piping hot glasses filled with dark liquid. 

“Uh, you extra thirsty there?” Lance smirked.

“No, idiot. One is for you.” Keith shoved one of the cups into Lance’s hands.

Lance couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face, “Wow, thanks, buddy.” He took a careful stip, still wary of alien beverages after the hotdog water and feet experience. 

The hot liquid spread across his tongue and warmed the inside of his mouth, it was sweet and spicy with a bit of a cinnamon after taste. It was similar to the mulled cider Pidge had made back in the garrison. Lance smiled.

“Wow, this reminds me of my first Halloween in America,” he said absently, not talking to anyone in particular.

“Your first? How old were you, one?” Keith deadpanned.

“I was sixteen. God, Keith, I’m from Cuba. I came to America when I was fifteen.” Lance glared over the steam rising from his cup, “How do you not know that?” Lance’s face darkened, “Oh right, you didn’t even know my name until all this started.”

“You’re not American?” Keith’s eyes were wide before crinkling up in thought. “Well, that explains why you keep messing up your cuss words,” he mused.

“Quiznacking crow _Keith,_ I curse just fine.” Lance rolled his eyes in a huff.

“No, you kind of don’t.” Keith took another sip before his eyes scrunched up again, “If you first came to America when you were fifteen, how come you don’t have an accent?” 

Lance squeezed his eyes shut, “Why the sudden interest, Keith? We went to the same school, then we lived in the same castle for almost a year, and now suddenly you want to know why I don’t have an accent? It’s not like you care about me. Heck, you didn’t even know I was Cuban til two seconds ago. Why even ask?”

Keith fiddled with his cup, “You’re right, you know.” Lance’s jaw dropped, that was the last thing he expected. Keith continued, “I’m a loner and dropout, I can’t be Shiro. I’m no leader. I have trouble talking to people, without Shiro...” Keith stopped and gulped air, it came out in a shudder, “You’re the only person who takes the time to talk to me, and I’m not very good at it, but,” Keith shifted his face into the crook of his own shoulder looking down at the ground, “I want to take the time to talk to you.”

Lance’s jaw dropped and he blinked at the poorly worded monologue before a small smile spread across his lips, “Spongebob. So much Spongebob.”

Keith looked up in surprise, he was expecting a fight, or for Lance to make fun of him, not...an answer. He shook his head to clear it, “What does Spongebob have to do with anything?”

Lance sighed, guess it was time to tell his life story or something, “The Garrison was my dream since I was, like, 5 years old. Cuba’s space program isn’t even in the top twenty space programs in the world. Russia helped make it and it’s...okay.” Lance shrugged and looked at Keith to see if he was still listening. Keith nodded and Lance went on, “So to help me with my English my mom bought a ton of American TV shows and I watched them over and over to learn English, Spongebob was the best one she got, so I watched it the most.”

“Wow,” Keith shook his head in disbelief. “That’s actually kind of cool.”

“Yeah, well, they don’t cuss much in cartoons so I just kinda wing it.”

“It’s not bad for winging it,” Keith begrudged, bringing his warm drink up to his cheeks.

“Thanks,” Lance laughed, then smiled a bit sad, “My mom has always been really supportive of my dream. The whole family pitched in to pay for my tuition, but that’s the Serrano way, you know?”

Keith’s eyes flickered with emotion, “No, not really.”

Lance looked over at Keith, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t really have much of a family, not anymore.” Keith looked down at the ground and shoved his foot into the soft earth of the foreign planet.

Lance shivered, maybe it was getting colder, “Oh, I didn’t know, man. I’m sorry.” 

Lance put a hand on Keith’s shoulder and the ebony haired boy looked up shrugging, “It’s nothing, they left a long time ago, I’m over it.” Keith sighed, then smiled sadly, “But I have Shiro. Or I did have Shiro. I guess I’ve lost him twice, now...” Keith gripped his cup a little too hard and it crumpled in his hand, now lukewarm liquid spilling over his clenched fist. 

Lance brought both of his hands to Keith’s clenched fist, cupping it. He slowly pulled at each of Keith’s fingers as he sing songed, “Sana, Sana, Colita de Rana,” until the fist loosened and the cup fell away. Lance held the hand between both of his palms and looked at Keith in the eyes, ”Si no sana hoy, sanará mañana.” Their breaths became warm puffs of crystallized mist in the space between them. A brisk breeze blew past them, ruffling Lance’s hair and pushing Keith’s bangs into his eyes.

Keith looked up at Lance through his jagged fringe, but didn’t pull his hand away, “What was that?” 

Lance started rubbing his hands back and forth warming up Keith’s slightly sticky one, “Just a magic spell to make your pain fly away.” 

Lance’s face was very close now. Keith had never noticed the freckles on the other boy’s face. Soft brown spots dusted across Lance’s cheeks and nose. _Cute._ Keith thought before he could stop himself.

“I know Shiro meant a lot to you. He meant a lot to everyone, but,” Lance swallowed the lump in his throat along with his pride, “He probably meant the most to you, and vice versa.” Lance’s hands stopped and he squeezed Keith’s hand trying to reassure him. Red rushed to his cheeks and he looked away from Keith’s face and down at their entwined hands, “But you also mean a lot to me. I don’t come to just anyone with my problems, you know. I never went to Shiro about anything. Just you.”

Keith let out a long breath he didn’t know he was holding. The white puff of air floated up and disappeared into the cold night. “I thought you said you came to me because I was the leader.”

“Yeah, well, I had to have some kind of excuse. I didn’t think you’d talk to me otherwise.” Lance pulled his hands away and Keith’s hand became instantly icy without Lance’s warmth. “Actually, I'm pretty sure you don’t like me at all, so, sorry about,” Lance gestured vaguely between them, “all this.”

“I don’t not like you.” Keith tried.

Lance made a face, quirking an eyebrow, “Double negatives; not my strong point.”

Keith sighed, “It’s not that I don’t like you. I just,” he sucked in a breath before he continued, “don’t know how to act around you.”

Lance laughed and pushed his shoulder playfully, “You don’t have to act like anything Keith, just be yourself.”

Keith shrugged but pushed Lance back playfully.

“C’mon, I think it’s almost time for the fireflowers.” Lance nodded in the direction of the town center, “What are fireflowers anyways?” he wrinkled his nose in question.

Keith shrugged, soft smile playing on his lips, “Beats me.”

Keith and Lance met the group at the town courtyard just in time for the explanation of what they were going to do from Allura.

They all piled on top of the main stage, Lance didn’t have much of a role to play. He just had to stand there and wave when it was time. Allura was giving a speech, with Keith by her side. Lance tried to shove down the insecurity that was gnawing in his belly. The little voice that said _If Allura can replace you as the Paladin of the Blue Lion, then she can replace you as Keith’s right hand._

Allura’s speech was beautiful, as always, and the crowd cheered when they were supposed to. Lance squinted to see if he could find the edge of the throng, but it seemed that rainbow-dusted aliens were in every nook and cranny the town had to offer as far as he could see.

The first fireflower exploded above their heads and Lance gazed in wonder. _Fireworks. Of course. How’d I not guess that?_ The audience cooed in sync with each explosion.

Keith and Allura stepped back into line, Keith standing between Pidge and Lance in the center and Allura on Lance’s right. They all waved to the crowd as the fireworks went off, although Lance’s eyes were still fixed firmly on the explosions of color above him.

Lance stole a glance at Keith, and Keith looked over at him at that exact moment. There was no explanation or reason for it. If he was ever asked why he had looked at Keith right then he’d only answer with a shrug, not that anyone ever asked. It was one of those mutual reactions, contagious, like when someone yawns. Their eyes locked, and Keith gasped. 

Every freckle on Lance’s body glistened, sparkling in reflection of the fireworks above them. A galaxy on his face spotted in a smeared nebula of color. Keith jumped as Lance’s finger touched a spot right next to his ear and his face inched impossibly close.

“What are you doing?” Keith tried backing away, only to bump into Pidge who elbowed him sharply.

“Your mole, it’s glowing,” Lance breathed the words.

“I don’t have a mole,” Keith protested.

“Yes you do, it’s right... here.” Lance pressed his finger into a spot where Keith’s hair fell over his ear.

“How do you know I have a mole there?”

Lance looked at him incredulously, “It’s the only mole you have on your face.” Keith still looked at him baffled, “And because it’s glowing.” Keith didn’t look nearly as surprised as Lance expected after hearing that a spot on his face was literally radiating light. 

Keith shook his head and pressed his own finger against one of the many bundles of constellations on Lance’s cheek, “Your freckles are glowing.” Keith didn’t say that they were beautiful or that they looked like fallen stars, but he imagined a meteor shower splashing onto the other boy’s face, spotting him in the golden light.

Allura leaned over into their space, “Oh, You two drank uganto cider! I didn’t know they had any here.”

Both Keith and Lance looked at her questioningly, “What is _ugnago_ cider?” Lance asked.

“ _Uganto_ , it reacts to the pigmentation in skin and makes it glow, I guess since this race is covered in fur, you couldn’t tell it did anything. It was very popular at weddings in Altea. Although, I don’t know why it only covers humans in spots.” Allura concluded and shook her head before returning to her space.

“Yeah, I guess that’s a thing,” Lance said mostly to himself. 

Keith smiled, “It’s nice.” 

“Yeah?” Lance looked up at Keith.

“Yeah.” Keith looked back to the fireworks that lit up his face in splashes of colored lights.

“Then, I guess it’s okay.” Lance’s eyes followed Keith’s up to the sky.

Keith leaned his shoulder onto Lance’s and warmth flooded into him, warming him from the inside out, breath floating above them in wisps of frosted vapor as they watched the display.

Lance decided that this moment, here, was going directly to the top of his list of favorite autumn things, right above pumpkin spice lattes. Well, maybe number two. Nothing beat his mom’s maduros.

**Author's Note:**

> HEYYYYY you made it! We're here, at the bottom, where the fic is over. You're different now. Your viewpoint has changed, maybe the world looks just a little sweeter, just a little more klance-y. I hope it does. 
> 
> Wow I can't believe I've written one fic every week! Only two more to go! :x
> 
> Next week is Keith's birthday...but I got nothing. I don't know what I'm going to do... I was planning one story, but like I said, season 4 SHOOK ME. So I dunno I DON'T KNOW ANYMORE. I KNOW NOTHING. okay. I'm done, sorry you had to see that. See you next week for...whatever I do!
> 
> Special thanks to [Starbuck7](http://starbuck-7.tumblr.com/) for being the best editor in the world!
> 
> [Stalk me on Tumblr!](http://yuzuling.tumblr.com/) Because I love you! I'm also on the Voltron and Klance Aminos all day erry day. Come dm me!


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